Skydance hires ousted Disney animation head Lasseter

Jan 9 (Reuters) - U.S. film production company Skydance Media on Wednesday named Walt Disney Co's former animation head and co-founder of Pixar, John Lasseter, as head of its animation division.

In 2017, he took a leave of absence and later left Walt Disney last year, following what he called "missteps," including unwanted hugs that made employees uncomfortable, according to a memo at the time seen by Reuters.

"... We did not enter into this decision lightly. John has acknowledged and apologized for his mistakes and, during the past year away from the workplace, has endeavored to address and reform them." Skydance Chief Executive Officer David Ellison said in a statement.

Lasseter, regarded as a modern day Walt Disney because of his creativity and commercial success, directed the 1995 hit "Toy Story" and was the creative force behind movie hits like "Frozen" and "Finding Nemo".

Lasseter, who will report to Ellison, will be based in Los Angeles and start later this month. (Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)